TWO York primary schools could soon join forces, sharing governors as well as the same head teacher.

Parents with children at Clifton Without Juniors and Rawcliffe Infant School have until February 28 to reply to a letter asking for comments on governors' plans for the two schools to "federate" - with one head teacher and one set of governors.

At the moment Chris Wigley, head teacher at Clifton Without, is acting as head teacher at both schools - an arrangement that suits parents, governors and staff at both schools.

There are 287 pupils on the school roll at Rawcliffe and 285 at Clifton Without. If the schools became a federation school they would not merge, remaining on separate sites with the same budgets and staff.

The governing body of a federation school is responsible for the two schools as separate entities, but the schools can share funding and resources between them.

The idea is that a federation should provide the maximum opportunity for joint working and the flexible use of resources.

Next Tuesday, Coun Carol Runciman, City of York Council's executive member for education, and her advisory panel will be asked to back the governors' plans to federate.

Following the departure of the head teacher at Rawcliffe Infants in August 2003, the local education authority asked both governing bodies to comment on possibly merging on the Rawcliffe site.

Coun Runciman said: "Ultimately we would still like to put the schools together on the same site, but that has proved problematic.

"Joining forces as a federation means the two schools retain their own budgets as they stand, but they can forge closer links, and that's what we want."

The chairman of governors at Rawcliffe, Stuart Rawlings, said: "Joining as a federation would be better for parents, pupils and staff at both schools.

"I think the closer infant and junior provision are to one another, the smoother the transition for pupils in the long run."

On March 1 the governing bodies of both schools will meet to decide on the way forward, with the hope that federation can start at the beginning of the new financial year on April 1.

Last year, the Evening Press reported that small rural schools in North Yorkshire could possibly join together in confederations, and Warthill and Sand Hutton primary schools now share one head teacher.

Updated: 11:32 Tuesday, February 08, 2005